Monmouth MP Criticises Dental Surgery Waiting Time
Monmouth MP, David Davies has condemned waiting times for dental surgery in Wales, after figures revealed that people in Wales are waiting for surgery for a significantly longer period of time than those in England.
According to statistics obtained from the Commons Library, patients in Wales are 50% more likely to have to wait longer than 18 weeks for dental surgery than patients in England. The figures revealed that 28.7 percent of patients transferred for oral surgery in Wales wait for at least 18 weeks, compared to just 13.1 percent in England.
Mr Davies asked to see information relating to waiting times after a complaint he received from a patient living in Chepstow. The woman wrote to Mr Davies after being forced to wait 5 months for surgery to remove an impacted wisdom tooth, which was causing her a considerable amount of pain. The woman was referred to the Royal Gwent Hospital by both her dentist and her GP, yet was told she would have to wait 5 months for an appointment. She developed an abscess and the pain was unbearable so she felt there was no choice but to pay for private treatment.
Mr Davies has accused the Welsh government of failing to do enough to protect NHS patients in Wales. He said that the figures confirm that the government is not doing enough to ensure that patients are receiving the level of care they deserve and stated that he would be contacting the Health Minister in order to ask for a justification.
A spokesman for the government said that they were unable to remark on individual cases.
Join this Discussion